PANELS

GUAR - A WONDER CROP

Guar gum, also called guaran, is a galactomannan. It is primarily the ground endosperm of guar beans. The guar seeds are dehusked, milled and screened to obtain the guar gum. It is typically produced as a free-flowing, pale, off-white-colored, coarse to fine ground powder

Guar is grown mainly in India, Pakistan, Sudan and parts of USA. India grows over 850,000 tons, or 80% of the total guar produced all over the world. Mainly in Rajasthan 65% of the Guar Gum or derivatives produced in India are exported, mainly to USA and to European countries.

70% of India's Guar is grown in Rajasthan, and the balance mainly in Haryana, Gujarat and Punjab. Guar is grown in semi-arid climate and contains a protein and natural polymer. The protein along with the husk is used as animal feed and the natural polymer is used as a thickener to viscosify water.

This property of viscosifying water is used to modify products in various industries are:

India's much neglected and little-known guar gum is now its biggest agricultural item of export, upstaging the much better known items of basmati and non-basmati rice. Major uses today are in Textile Printing Thickeners, Oil and Gas Well drilling & Fracturing, Water based Paints, Building and Construction, Cosmetics & Personal Care, Food ingredients, etc.

WHAT IS GUAR GUM?

Guar Gum, also called guaran, is derived from endosperm of the guar plant (Cyamopsis tetragonolobus). Guar is a legume crop, which grows best in sandy soils and needs moderate, intermittent rainfall with lots of sunshine.

Guar gum is a natural high molecular weight polysaccharide galactomannan, with a mannose to galactose ratio of 2:1, combined through glycosidic linkages. The guar seeds are dehusked, milled and screened to obtain guar gum. It is typically produced as a free-flowing, pale, off-white-colored, coarse to fine ground powder, which is available in different viscosities and granulometries depending on the applications.

KEY PROPERTIES:

Easy solubility in both cold and hot water

Stable in solutions over a wide range of pH values from 2 - 10

Film forming property

Resistance to oils, greases and solvent

Better thickening agent

Water binding capacity

High viscosity

Functioning at low temperatures

Compatible with many other hydrocolloids used in food formulations

Versatility due to number of free hydroxy groups to make derivatives for specific applications.

USES

The traditional market for Guar Gum is as an additive in the food industry. In the U.S., differing percentages are set for its allowable concentration in various food applications. In Europe, guar gum has EU food additive code E412.

Today, the usage and Exports of Guar Gum are in majority cases in Industrial Applications.

Food Industry

Uses

Bakery

Improves texture

Increases dough yield

Increases shelf life

Improves crumb structure

Processed Cheese

Improves texture and flavour

Stabiliser

Soups

Thickener

Stabiliser

Pastry Ices

Absorbs free water

Prevents excessive stickiness

Noodles

Improves texture and form

Improves moisture retention.

Meat

Binder in sausages

Absorbs free water

Improves flow rate

Prevents separation and migration

Dressings and Sauces

Thickener

Emulsion stabiliser

Improves flow properties

Beverages

Controls viscosity

Improves body and mouth feel

Improves shelf life

Industrial Applications

Uses

Textiles

For Printing with Acid dyes on silk and Polyamide

Oil well drilling

Fluid-loss controlling agent

Additives in fracturing fluids

Mining

Concentration of ores

Flocculation and better recovery

Construction

Mortar Retarder and mortar flowability

Explosives

Water binding agent for aqueous slurry explosives

Cosmetics and Pharmaceuticals

Conditioner and viscosifier

Thickener in toothpastes and shampoos

Binder in tablets

To disintegrate compressed tablets

Mild laxative and soluble dietary fiber

Paper

For improved sheet formation

Increased bursting strength

Increased fold strength

Denser surface for printing

To get better finish

EXPORTS

SHEFEXIL has maintained a healthy growth in guar gum export over the years, especially boosting since 2011-12, fuelled by increasing industrial uses across the world.

The primary destination of Indian guar gum has been USA, followed by China and Germany, and also 11 other countries including South Africa, UAE, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Hong Kong and Japan.

The export performance of guar gum over the years is highlighted in green in the chart below, along with the projection for 2012-13 and 2013-14 highlighted in orange:

U.S. BUYER INPUTS

A reputed buyer from the United States of America shared certain relevant views on how the world perceives Indian guar gum, which are detailed below.

The degree by which the viscosity increases for NATURAL GUAR strongly depends on three factors, which are:

Sources of guar seeds

Quality of guar seeds from each source

Processing of guar

In order to maximize return on investment, Guar manufacturers should focus on all the three above mentioned factors. For example, one can take a an average quality guar split and process it in a manner that will yield very high quality guar - which will be a highly efficient thickener.

DERIVATIZED GUAR

Guar splits of any quality can also be chemically modified to increase its performance (or valued added). This derivatized Guar is normally used for Industrial Applications like:

Oil field Applications

Cosmetics & Personal Care

Paint Industry

Textile Industry

Construction

DEMAND OF GUAR

In recent times in oil field business, there has been a significant increase in demand for guar both natural and derivatized guar. This increase in demand has been due to primarily in increase in an area of activity called Hydraulic Fracturing (HF).

Just on 18 month period, there has been a 50% jump in hydraulic fracturing activities. Typical HF uses either guar ( natural or modified) and Poly Acryl Amide (PAM). Typically 60% HF jobs are done with PAM and 40% are done with guar.

SUPPLY AND DEMAND OF GUAR

As we have indicated demand for oil field applications for guar has gone up and supply from India has grown up substantially. However, Prices need to be kept reasonable or else the oil field companies may be compelled to find other sources to replace guar.

FUTURE TRENDS IN GUAR IN

Indian manufacturers even today do not know how to Derivatize Guar which is a value added. Very few also really know how to manufacture high quality HVG ( US Patent : Deysarkar, Dadoo etal). These value additions must be learnt if India as a country must earn more for their raw materials.